Rehoboth closing north Boardwalk bathrooms Sept. 22

Beginning Monday, Sept. 23, Rehoboth Beach will begin to disassemble the temporary restrooms the city installed at the north end of the Boardwalk.

The beach patrol’s last day is Sept. 22, said Public Works Director Henry Matlosz, during a commissioner workshop Sept. 12.

Located on an open, Boardwalk-fronting, city-owned lot immediately north of the One Virginia Avenue condominiums, the city installed the two temporary bathroom facilities in May for users of the north end beaches since the facilities in the former beach patrol building at Baltimore Avenue were demolished as part of the new beach patrol project. Each of the trailers had two stalls and three urinals on the men’s side, four stalls on the women’s side, and a handicap stall.

The city tried to minimize the impact by using nice facilities, said Matlosz. 

There was a learning curve associated with operating the temporary restrooms, said Matlosz. For example, he said, hours needed to be adjusted because of vandalism and tank pumping needed to be done more because the toilets were getting clogged.

Matlosz said the infrastructure is staying in the ground and will be winterized.

As for completion of the beach patrol project, city officials remain confident it will be done in time for the start of the 2025 season in May.

Matlosz said their was a three-month contingency included in the contract, which put the completion date in February. There was a month-long delay because of pile driving issues, which, Matlosz said, pushed the completion date into March.

The opening date is not at risk, he said.

Not everyone in attendance was as confident as the city.

Resident Carolyn Diefenderfer said she and her husband walk by the site often, and from their layman’s perspective, it doesn’t look like there’s any way it will be done in time. She requested the city provide more information on target completion dates.

Commissioner-elect Craig Thier said he would like to see the project construction manager at the commissioner updates in the future.

The next major milestone for the project will be the pouring of the first floor’s concrete slab, which is expected to take place the week of Sept. 16, said Matlosz.

The cost of the project continues to creep upward.

The city awarded the $4.9 million contract to Delmarva Veteran Builders in August 2023. In July, the project manager for the city’s construction management firm EDiS said additional pile driving and sea wall work were the driving forces behind $550,000 worth of change orders since construction began at the start of the year.

Since July, there’s been an additional $40,000 in change orders related to revised foundations, vacuuming an 8-inch storm line and a time capsule. There are also several change orders under review, he said.

The contract also included $445,000 in additional funds related to owner contingencies, owner allowances and security/IT. In July, the project manager said all the security/IT allowance had been used – $160,000 – while about $30,000 of the owner contingency had been used, leaving those funds at about $250,000.

Matlosz said the totals for those funds have not changed.